Psychotherapist and author Jonathan Alpert joined Dan Proft on Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the backlash facing major companies over rebranding efforts and the mindset of voters drawn to progressive candidates like New York mayoral contender Zoran Mandani.
Alpert said companies such as Cracker Barrel, Bud Light, and Target have alienated their core customers by catering to a small activist base. “They’re appealing to one or two percent of their buyers at the expense of the other ninety-eight,” he argued, pointing to the drop in stock value that has followed high-profile marketing shifts. He noted that many executives appear more interested in pursuing ideological goals than addressing the basics of business, which he said is “killing their companies.”
The conversation turned to politics, where Alpert drew parallels between marketing missteps and progressive electoral strategies. He argued that Democrats have often focused on cultural issues such as gender identity while neglecting everyday concerns like safety and cost of living. He said this disconnect was evident in his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, where he described Mandani as a candidate whose promises to decriminalize drugs and prostitution mirror policies that have failed in cities like Portland.
Alpert emphasized that many of Mandani’s supporters hold contradictory views. He recalled a patient shaken by witnessing a violent crime who nonetheless argued that Mandani’s agenda was the solution. “They want safety, but they support candidates who weaken law enforcement,” Alpert said. He added that voters sometimes retreat to what he called “comforting illusions,” rationalizing problems like urban crime as either unsolvable or something that could be fixed if “everyone came together,” without confronting difficult realities.
Alpert was also critical of his own profession, saying that graduate schools increasingly turn out “social justice warriors” rather than clinicians focused on helping patients with depression, anxiety, and other core issues. He said some therapists impose ideological frameworks on patients, assuming their struggles stem from systemic oppression rather than listening to their actual experiences. By contrast, Alpert said he pushes patients to separate fact from perception, challenging victim mindsets while acknowledging genuine discrimination when it arises.
Looking at the broader cultural debate, Alpert suggested that both in politics and in business, success depends on resisting the temptation to cater to narrow ideological groups. “When leaders abandon the concerns of the majority, they lose trust, they lose customers, and they lose voters,” he said.